July 11, 2014 at 9:17 AM
Cup of Coffee: Pawtucket's offense explodes, Portland swept
7/11 Cup of Coffee: Pawtucket wins again alongside the DSL Red Sox. GCL Red Sox win one and see second postponed. Portland gets swept, Salem's comeback falls short, and the Drive and Spinners lose in lopsided affairs.
-----
The Pawtucket Red Sox slugged their way to a victory over the Toledo Mud Hens (CLE) winning 11-2. The 16-hit onslaught was a true team effort as all but one of the PawSox starter's collected a hit, with six collecting multi-hit games. The game was close until the top of the seventh inning when Pawtucket exploded for seven runs, which stretched the lead from one run to eight runs.
Center fielder Corey Brown slugged his 13th home run of the season with one runner on base and two outs in the top of the ninth to bring the tally to 11. Brown, who also doubled, had four RBI on the day. Shortstop Jonathan Herrera and outfielder Andres Torres, who hit first and second in the lineup, respectively, had three hits each and scored a combined three runs.
Hidden in the box score after such an offensive outpouring was the outing by starter Anthony Ranaudo (pictured), who gave the PawSox five quality innings. He yielded six hits, one walk, one earned and struck out four before exiting in the sixth inning.
-----
The Portland Sea Dogs fell to the Binghamton Mets (NYM) 13-3. The loss marks a series sweep for the Mets as they took both halves of a doubleheader on Wednesday. The game was close through seven innings until the Mets exploded for four runs in the bottom half of the seventh and five more in the bottom half of the eighth inning. Of the 13 runs scored by the Mets, only six were earned as the SeaDogs made three costly errors.
Starter Luis Diaz put together an interesting line. He gave up three earned runs in 5 2/3 innings, but only yielded four hits and struck out nine. After surrendering four runs, three earned, in the second inning, Diaz settled in and did not allow another hit in the game.
Two SeaDogs logged multi-hit games: catcher Blake Swihart, who was 2 for 4 with a double and two RBI, and left fielder Keury De La Cruz, who was 2 for 4 with an RBI.
-----
The Salem Red Sox lost a heart breaker to the Frederick Keys (BAL) 5-4. With the game tied 3-3 entering the ninth, the Keys scored two runs in the top half of the inning on a pair of RBI doubles. Salem, trailing by two in the ninth, was able to put together a promising start to the inning with back-to-back singles from Kendrick Perkins and Jordan Weems. Matty Johnson then sacrificed the runners to second and third, which brought up Jose Vincio, who drove in a run on a ground out. With the tying-run on second and two outs, Reed Gragani, who had Salem's lone extra-base hit in the game, grounded out to end the game.
Salem starter Pat Light put together a good outing. He threw six innings, gave up one earned run on six hits and one walk. He struck out two batters.
----
The Greenville Drive fell 8-2 to the Augusta GreenJackets (SF). The Drive got on the board first when second baseman Carlos Asuaje slugged his 11th home run, a solo shot, in the second inning to break the scoreless tie. Unfortunately, it was all Augusta from there. Drive starter Teddy Stankiewicz was good through the first four innings, but ran into trouble in the fifth. The big blow was a one-out three-run home run, which brought the score to 5-1 Augusta. Stankiewicz overall line was 4 2/3 innings, nine hits, four earned and three walks. The Drive collected only six hits on the day, two of which came from left fielder Zach Kapstein.
-----
The Lowell Spinners played a forgettable contest against the Staten Island Yankees (NYY) losing 11-0. The Spinners collected only three hits in the game, two of which came from left fielder Nick Longhi. The Spinners struck out 15 times as a team in the game. Reed Reilly started the game and didn't last long. He was lifted after 1 2/3 innings after giving up five hits and three runs. He was relieved by Heri Quevedo, who gave up eight runs in 3 1/3 innings.
-----
The DSL Red Sox prevailed over the DSL Yankees1 5-2. Three DSL Red Sox collected multi-hit games. Shortstop Carlos Tovar, was 2 for 4 with a run and a walk, designated hitter Roldani Baldwin, was 2 for 5 with a run and an RBI, and left fielder Juan Perez, was 2 for 3. DSL starter Daniel Gonzalez was excellent through five innings, he only yielded two hits and one walk while striking out six. He moved to 7-0 on the season and lowered his ERA to 2.48.
-----
The GCL Red Sox defeated the GCL Rays 7-1 in a seven-inning contest meant to be part of a doubleheader, but the second game got rained out. Second baseman Victor Acosta and center fielder Joseph Monge both picked up two RBI each. Acosta was 2 for 4 with a run and a double in the game as well. Jeffry Fernandez started the game for the GCL squad and gave up only one run in four innings.
-----
Player of the Day: Pawtucket center fielder Corey Brown (pictured) put together an impressive box score in Thursday's big win. The 28-year-old outfielder showed power and patience. He slugged his 13th home run, collected four RBI and drew two walks. He has four home runs in his last 10 games, and has produced an OPS of .728 on the season.
Photo Credit: Anthony Ranaudo and Corey Brown by Kelly O'Connor.